Health Requirements for New Zealand Visas
Immigration New Zealand may decline an application where a medical assessor considers the applicant's likely health service costs would exceed NZ$81,000, assessed over five years or over the predicted course of the condition. That threshold has been unchanged since 4 September 2022. Whether a medical or chest x-ray is required depends on the visa, the length of stay and the country you are from.
Quick Facts
| Significant-cost health threshold | NZ$81,000 |
| Assessment period | Five years, or the predicted course of the condition |
| Threshold set on | 4 September 2022, rising from NZ$41,000 |
| Changed since | No. Stable for four years |
| What decides whether you need a medical | Visa type · length of stay · country you are from · whether you gave a certificate before |
| Medical waivers | Available for some categories. Not available for Parent Boost |
| INZ's assessment system | eMedical, using a panel-physician network |
| Verified | 20 August 2026 |
The acceptable standard of health
Every applicant for a New Zealand visa must meet health requirements. INZ describes the test as an acceptable standard of health, and it has two components: whether you are likely to be a danger to public health, and whether you are likely to impose significant costs or demands on New Zealand's health or special education services.
The second is the one that turns on a number.
NZ$81,000 is the significant-cost threshold. Where a medical assessor considers your likely health service costs would exceed it, INZ may decline the application. The assessment covers a five-year period, or the predicted course of your condition where that is the more relevant measure — so a long-term condition is assessed across its expected trajectory rather than an arbitrary window.
The threshold rose from NZ$41,000 to NZ$81,000 on 4 September 2022 and has not moved since. Four years of stability is unusual for a figure like this, and it is exactly the sort of number that can move quietly, so confirm it on INZ before relying on it.
This is a cost assessment made by a medical assessor, not a diagnosis list. INZ does not publish a list of conditions that pass or fail. Two people with the same diagnosis can be assessed differently depending on the treatment their condition is expected to require. See the acceptable standard of health explained.
When a medical or chest x-ray is required
INZ's own published answer to this is deliberately general. Its guidance states only that what you need to provide depends on the type of visa you are applying for, how long you intend to stay, what country you are from, and whether you have already provided a medical certificate with an earlier application.
INZ does not publish threshold durations on its current pages. The widely-quoted rule that stays over six months require a chest x-ray and stays over twelve months require a full medical is not confirmed on the current INZ site, and we do not publish it as fact. Nor do we publish INZ medical form numbers, which no longer appear on the health pages.
What is verified is category-specific, and those cases are set out below.
Verified requirements by category
| Category | What is required |
|---|---|
| Accredited Employer Work Visa | A chest x-ray for applicants from high-TB-incidence countries staying more than 6 months |
| Skilled Migrant Category | A medical examination and a chest x-ray |
| Parent Boost Visitor Visa | Both a chest x-ray and a medical examination, unless provided in the previous 12 months. Evidence must be less than 3 months old when INZ receives it |
| Working Holiday Visa | A chest x-ray where the applicant has spent more than 3 months in the last 5 years in a country with a high incidence of tuberculosis, or is staying longer than 12 months, or is applying from inside New Zealand. Evidence within 15 days of submitting and less than 3 months old |
For anything outside those four, check the requirement on the INZ page for your own visa rather than applying a general rule. See do I need a medical for a New Zealand visa and chest x-ray requirements.
The tuberculosis country list we do not publish
INZ maintains a page titled "Countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis", and the chest x-ray requirement turns on whether your country is on it.
We do not reproduce that list, because it could not be retrieved in a form we could verify. Lists circulating on third-party sites are of unknown vintage and should not be relied on to decide whether you need an x-ray — getting it wrong in either direction costs money or delays an application.
Check INZ's own page for your country. It is the only version that is current by definition.
How the medical process works
INZ runs an electronic system called eMedical, used with a network of panel physicians — doctors and radiologists approved by INZ to conduct immigration medicals and x-rays. You cannot use your own GP; the examination must be done by an approved provider, and the results are submitted electronically rather than handed to you.
Because results flow directly into INZ's system, an applicant is given an eMedical reference number and an INZ health case reference number to link the examination to the application.
You pay for the examination yourself. The panel physician's fee is a private charge and is not part of any INZ visa fee. It varies by country and provider.
Enhanced Immigration Online has reduced the need to supply medical certificates upfront for some visa types. INZ's upgraded platform uses smart forms that ask only the questions relevant to your visa and answers, and it does not always require medical evidence at the point of submission. Whether that applies to your application depends on the visa. See the Immigration Online account guide.
Medical waivers
Where an applicant does not meet the acceptable standard of health, a medical waiver may be available. INZ publishes a dedicated page on medical waivers for visa applications.
The waiver test itself is not published in retrievable form, so this page does not state what INZ weighs or how. What is confirmed:
- Medical waivers exist and INZ maintains guidance on them
- Medical waivers are not available for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa — that exclusion is explicit on INZ's own Parent Boost page
- A waiver is a separate consideration, not an automatic step, and it does not change the underlying assessment
If you have a health condition and are considering a New Zealand visa, this is the point at which the situation stops being a matter of published rules and becomes a matter of judgement about your own circumstances. That is what a licensed immigration adviser or a New Zealand lawyer is for. See medical waivers for NZ visa applications and how to find a licensed immigration adviser.
Parent Boost: the strictest health regime in the system
The Parent Boost Visitor Visa has requirements no other temporary visa carries, and applicants are frequently unaware of the second one.
No medical waivers are available. Where the health standard is not met, there is no waiver route.
There is a mandatory health and insurance re-check in the third year of the visa, and it must be done in the applicant's home country — which means temporarily leaving New Zealand partway through a visa that can run for five years. INZ charges a fee for that check.
Health insurance is mandatory and must be maintained for the entire stay, with published minimum cover levels for emergency medical care, cancer treatment, repatriation and return of remains.
Together those make Parent Boost the most demanding health regime attached to any New Zealand temporary visa, and none of it is obvious from the visa's name.
What changed in March 2025
Health requirements for dependent children of temporary visa holders were strengthened in March 2025. The change was announced on 17 March 2025; the detail of what was tightened was not published in a form we could verify, so this page does not describe it further.
If you are including a child in a temporary visa application, check the current requirement on INZ's page for that visa rather than relying on guidance written before March 2025. See dependent children of work visa holders.
Health and residence
Residence applications carry the fullest health assessment in the system — the Skilled Migrant Category requires both a medical examination and a chest x-ray as a matter of course, and the significant-cost threshold applies with full force.
That matters more for residence than for temporary visas for an obvious reason: a resident has access to publicly funded health care, so the cost assessment is assessing a real liability rather than a hypothetical one. See health requirements for New Zealand residence and healthcare eligibility for migrants.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the health cost threshold for a New Zealand visa?
NZ$81,000. INZ may decline an application where a medical assessor considers likely health service costs would exceed that figure, assessed over five years or over the predicted course of the condition. It has been NZ$81,000 since 4 September 2022.
Do I need a medical for a New Zealand visa?
It depends on the visa, how long you intend to stay, what country you are from, and whether you have already supplied a medical certificate with an earlier application. INZ does not publish general duration thresholds, so check the requirement on the page for your specific visa.
When is a chest x-ray required?
Confirmed cases include Accredited Employer Work Visa applicants from high-TB-incidence countries staying more than six months, Skilled Migrant Category applicants, Parent Boost applicants, and Working Holiday applicants who have spent more than three months in the last five years in a high-TB country, are staying longer than twelve months, or are applying from inside New Zealand.
How long is a New Zealand immigration medical valid?
INZ does not publish a general validity period in a form we could verify, so we do not state one. Some categories set their own recency rules — Parent Boost requires evidence less than three months old, and Working Holiday requires the same. Confirm the rule for your own visa with INZ.
Can I use my own doctor for a New Zealand immigration medical?
No. The examination must be done by a panel physician approved by INZ, and results are submitted electronically through the eMedical system rather than given to you on paper.
Is there a medical waiver for New Zealand visas?
Medical waivers exist and INZ publishes guidance on them. The test INZ applies is not published in retrievable form. Waivers are not available for the Parent Boost Visitor Visa.
Which countries need a chest x-ray for a New Zealand visa?
INZ maintains a list of countries with a low incidence of tuberculosis, and the requirement turns on it. We do not reproduce that list because it could not be verified — check INZ's own page, since third-party copies are of unknown age.
Does a medical condition mean my visa will be declined?
No. INZ assesses the likely cost to health and special education services, not the diagnosis itself, and a waiver may be available in some categories. Whether a particular condition would meet or fail the standard is an assessment of individual circumstances, which is a matter for INZ or a licensed immigration adviser.
Does the visa fee include the medical?
No. The panel physician charges you directly, and that fee is separate from every INZ application fee, immigration levy and IVL. See the complete New Zealand visa fee list.
Primary source: Immigration New Zealand's health requirements guidance, its news release on the significant-cost health threshold increase, and the individual visa pages for the Accredited Employer Work Visa, Skilled Migrant Category Resident Visa and Parent Boost Visitor Visa. Verified 20 August 2026. Where this page does not state a rule or a list, it is because it could not be verified from a primary source — check INZ directly.
This page is general information about published requirements. It is not immigration advice and does not assess whether you would meet the health standard.
